Sunday, October 26, 2014

This Election Is Turning Into A Big Yawn

I've had to be particularly careful in my approach and reporting on the election this year, as being a candidate has put me in a different position than I am accustomed to.

That said, based on what I see in the papers and have seen around town, except for the usual proliferation of candidates signs, you might be forgiven for thinking there is no election this year.

Where is the lame-stream media in all of this anyway? Do they ever actually get out of the office and interview candidates to see if any of them have anything meaningful to say? For that matter would the local press-titutes recognize a meaningful comment if it bit them on the nose? I doubt it.

The 'legitimate' media (not lowly bloggers) offers candidates a bit of space to highlight their 'profiles' which of course they have to write themselves, giving free content to the publishers for their 'special election editions'. The primary purpose of these editions being to sell advertising of course. Getting candidates to supply free content is a stroke of brilliance.

Since the publisher and editor left the Nanaimo Daily, they have quickly resumed their role of lap-dogs to city hall, happily taking their direction and content from Mr. Cooper I presume.

I asked the fill-in editor at the Daily Snooze what would qualify as a legitimate news story brought forward by a candidate, and was basically told a candidate could say anything they want in an advertisement. Really? Is that what the 5th estate has become these days?

Why aren't they interviewing our Mayor demanding that he defend his record of the past six years, of course that would require a reporter who has been paying attention these past six years. Likely, hard to find. How about some probing questions about all those in-camera meetings? Ever-increasing taxes? More golden handshakes and approving unfunded 'vote-buying' motions? To name just a few.

What about the 911 decision which is costing us dearly? Whatever happened to the fire department report and the call for the economy of 2 man, rapid response trucks? Justify the Colliery Dam decision or the Leadercast fiasco. How about millions of dollars of hotel tax exemptions which will have zero impact on our failed convention business?

In a 'real' newsroom those last few ideas would be all the fodder needed to get a journalists' blood boiling ...................... but then again, this is Nanaimo, don't you know.

Note: the local radio stations of course are not worth mentioning, they have little interest in any story they can't fully report in 15 seconds.